Having clinched a winning season in 2004, the Whitworth College football team will set its sights on earning a sixth victory of the season this weekend when the Pirates host Lewis & Clark College in the Pine Bowl at 12:30 pm. Whitworth (5-1, 1-1) and Lewis & Clark (1-5, 0-2) have met 35 times with the Bucs holding a 23-12 edge in the series. The game will be both teams' third NWC contest of the year. The Pirates are hoping to get above .500 in conference play while the Pioneers are looking to pick up their first NWC win.

Whitworth is coming off of a 41-35 overtime victory at Menlo College. The Pirates won despite giving up a late 28-14 lead. The win gave Whitworth a 3-0 record in the state of California in 2004. Lewis & Clark lost 42-0 at home to Pacific Lutheran on Saturday.

The Pirates: Based on stats alone, it is hard to see how Whitworth won the game. The Oaks outgained the Pirates 520-453. Menlo had a 30-25 edge in first downs. Whitworth was held to a season-low 128 yards rushing and committed a season-high nine penalties for 78 yards. And for the first time this season, Whitworth came out even in the turnover department (1-1).

Joel Clark (So., QB, Spokane, Wash. - Mt. Spokane HS) found Jared Thomas (RS So., WR, Newberg, Ore. - Newberg HS) for a 25 yard touchdown on the first play of Whitworth's second overtime possession to give the Pirates the victory. Clark completed 23 of 32 passes for 325 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. He also ran for 48 yards and another score. Thomas caught nine passes for 126 yards, including the touchdown. Mathew Johnson (RS Jr., WR, Olympia, Wash. - Olympia HS) had five catches for 85 yards, while Kyle Snell (RS Jr., WR, Issaquah, Wash. - Univ. of Arizona) also had five grabs for 53 yards and the other score. Chris Ahsing (RS Fr., RB, Ewa Beach, Hawaii - Campbell HS) led Pirate rushers with 54 yards on 12 carries. Kyle Havercroft (RS Fr., RB, Rathdrum, Idaho - Lakeland HS) injured his ankle during the game and his status for the remainder of the season is uncertain.

The Pirate defense made enough plays to allow the Pirates to win the game. The Bucs kept Menlo off of the scoreboard during their first five trips deep into Whitworth territory. Whitworth held on downs three times (including a fake field goal that was stopped short), Phil Entel (RS Fr., DB, Clarkston, Wash. - Univ. of Idaho) picked off his third pass of the year at the Pirate 14 yard line, and the Oaks missed a 38 yard field goal. After Menlo scored on three straight possessions to tie the game at 28-28 and then take a 35-28 lead in overtime, the defense stiffened again. Whitworth did not allow Menlo a first down during its second overtime possession, giving the offense a chance to win the game.

Click here for the press release of Saturday's win over Menlo.

Red Zone Effectiveness: Whitworth continued its effectiveness in the red zone on Saturday, scoring all four times they were inside the Menlo 20 yard line. The Pirates have scored 30 of 34 times they have been in opponents' red zones this season. Whitworth has actually only been stopped twice. Two of the times they have failed to score have been kneel downs at the end of the La Verne and Eastern Oregon games.

Winning the Battle: The turnover battle often decides the outcome of games and Whitworth has been exceptional in turnover ratio this season. The Pirates lead the NWC with a +11 turnover margin (16 takeaways and five turnovers) and a +1.83 turnover ratio per game.

NWC Poll: Whitworth finished fourth in the NWC preseason coaches poll with 18 points. Defending champion Linfield finished first with all six first place votes. Link to NWC Football Coaches Poll.

National Polls: With a 5-1 start, the Pirates have 20 points in the D3football.com poll this week, getting listed with "others receiving votes". The poll can be found on the D3football.com website here:
http://www.d3football.com/top25.php?year=2004&week=8

The Opponents: Lewis & Clark is working to improve under first year coach Roger VanDeZande. The Pioneers are 1-5 overall and 0-2 in the NWC. L&C has averaged 9.5 points per game, while allowing 32 points per contest. The Pios lone win came on October 9th when they beat Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 27-11. L&C has been beaten 55-6 and 42-0 in successive weeks by Willamette and PLU, respectively, in their first two NWC contests. The Pioneers have thrown for 851 yards and run for 862. Redshirt freshman Robert Pugmire has thrown for 713 yards, completing 79 of 134 passes with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Tight end Reuben Miller has caught 30 passes for 252 yards. Brandon Zerr-Smith, a wide receiver, leads the rushing attack with 444 yards. Free Safety Gerry Swanson is tied for the NWC lead in tackles with 62.

In its most recent game with PLU the Pioneers gave up 401 rushing yards, out of 484 yards of total offense. L&C gained 142 yards and was shut out for the first time this year.

The Series: Whitworth holds a 23-12 edge in the all-time series. The Pirates have won the last six meetings. The biggest Pirate win in the series was 52-0 in 1999. The biggest Pioneer victory was 40-20 in 1957. L&C's last win was 20-7 in 1997.

Last Season: Whitworth rolled up season highs in points and total yardage in last season's 35-0 win over L&C. The Pirates finished with 492 yards of total offense, including a season-high 286 yards on the ground. Joel Clark completed 14 of 21 passes for 162 yards and one touchdown. Defensively Whitworth held Lewis & Clark to 257 total yards of offense.

On the Road to California: The Pirates have now played 14 games in California in its football history with a record of 6-8. Since 1998 Whitworth is 5-4 in games played in the Golden State, winning the last five in a row. Including this season's wins at Redlands, La Verne and Menlo, Whitworth also has 2001's season-opening 21-10 win at Chapman and 2002's 30-7 win at Menlo. The only other win in California was a 10-0 victory over Humboldt State in 1961.

Coach Tully's Quotes:

On the Menlo game: "I thought Menlo was very talented. When our guys had to make plays they did. It is the way we have been all year. It seems to be a different guy each week. When something has to get done, someone steps up. We needed one stop in OT and we got it. Our success this season has been an entire team effort."

On Lewis & Clark: "They are very well coached. I am impressed with what they do offensively and their defensive scheme is solid. Their coaches are doing the right things. We will focus on what we need to do to continue to improve. The exciting thing is that we are 5-1 and we can continue to get better."

The Coaches: John Tully is in his tenth season as head coach of the Pirates. He has a 43-48 record at Whitworth. However, he has led the Pirates to a 40-26 record over the past seven years and was named the 2001 NWC Coach of the Year. Tully is the second winningest coach in school history, trailing only Sam Adams (47-17-1 from 1958-64). Overall he is 74-70-1 in his 14th season as a head coach.

Roger VanDeZande is in his first year leading the Pioneers. He came to L&C from North Central College, where he was the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

2004 Statistics

2004 Roster

Other Division III Football Links:

Northwest Conference On-line

D3football.com

American Football Coaches Association

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